Mystery Man
by Lady Knight 1512
Summary: When her date doesn't show, she's joined by a friend she thought she knew. How is it, that she had missed something so important and, more importantly, so obvious? The couple isn't revealed until the end of this, so please R & R.


**A/N: I'm not quite sure why I'm writing this. In fact, I'm not even sure what I'm going to write. I'm a little bored at the moment and have decided to write something short. I'll let you know what I think of whatever it is when I reach the end!**

**Disclaimer: I'm not sure what's in this yet, but whatever it is, you can be sure that I don't own it!**

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**Mystery Man**

She picked up her spoon and stared at it listlessly. He hadn't shown! He'd stood her up! She absolutely could NOT believe it! No one had ever done this to her before. What was she supposed to do? Sit there all evening, or leave?

She chewed her lower lip in thought. She glanced at the clock. It was 8 o'clock. She would wait another half-hour, after that, she was GONE!

She leaned back in her chair and blew her fringe out of her eyes in frustration. Why did she spend time fooling around with boys anyway? It never brought her anything worthwhile. All she could do was put it down to her constant search for 'The One.'

At one stage in her life, she'd thought _he_ was this mysterious 'One' that she was supposed to find. She heaved a sigh. No such luck. After the War, he and her best girl friend had fallen in love, gotten married, and had three children. And here she was… all alone… again.

Her brown eyes flicked back to the clock. Five minutes had passed. "Time flies when you're having fun," she said to herself, twirling the spoon in her fingers.

"Doesn't it though?"

The voice behind her made her start. She had thought she was alone. Turning around in her seat, she looked into the eyes of one of her former enemies. When she'd been told that he was on their side, she'd almost killed herself laughing… but he was a good friend, to those he cared about.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him.

"I could ask the same of you."

"I asked first."

"For your information, I'm supposed to be on a date."

"Supposed to be? What does that mean?" she asked, her eyes searching the cosy restaurant for a woman she thought would be his type.

"Well, I'm afraid, she's not here. I appear to have been, as they say, rejected." The look in his eyes when he said this betrayed the fact that he didn't really care, one way or the other and it made her laugh, though reluctantly.

"You too, huh? I've been stood up as well."

He frowned in genuine confusion. "That can't be right. Maybe he's just running late."

She smirked. "By forty minutes? I really don't think so. It wouldn't have mattered anyway. We wouldn't have gotten anywhere. A couple more dates and he'd be out the door," she said bitterly.

She hated the sympathy that appeared in his eyes at her comment. She neither wanted nor needed his pity and she looked away from his face.

"So, it would appear that we are both, quite literally, all dressed up with no place to go," he said.

She gave a short, hollow laugh. "Yeah, I guess."

He didn't say anything for a while, and when she looked up at him, he was staring at her with the strangest look in his eyes.

She was uncomfortable under his unwavering gaze and she could feel a blush creeping into her cheeks. It was almost as if he could see into her very soul. His ice-blue eyes were drawing her in, to what, she couldn't quite tell. In confusion, her eyes glanced away from his again and she heard his low laugh.

Staring at the floor, his shoes entered her line of sight, as he stood in front of her, clearly waiting for her to acknowledge him. She finally did by looking up, up at his face. She felt very small, with him towering over her like this.

"May I join you?" he asked, courteously.

She suddenly felt very nervous. "Are you sure that's wise? Your date might turn up at any minute. It wouldn't do for her to see you sitting with me."

"That's alright. Next time she's on a date, she'll know not to be more than fifteen minutes late."

She knew she had no hope of getting out of this, and she honestly couldn't say why she should. He was a friend, they were both alone when they should be on dates, why shouldn't they have dinner?

"Well, yes, that's a good point. Sure, take a seat."

He smiled and sat down opposite her. He moved like a cat, she noted, silently and with grace. She tried to remember if he'd always been that way, or if he'd developed it at some time during their schooling.

The look of total concentration on her face made him ask, "Am I boring you already, that your mind has wandered away from the table?"

She grinned and shook her head. "No, I was just thinking about something."

When she didn't elaborate, he asked, "Well? What is it?"

"What is what?" she said playfully, taking a sip of water from the glass in front of her.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh! That!"

He nodded and frowned when she stared at him slyly from the corner of her eye. "Nothing," she said and he growled in frustration.

"Have you always been this annoying?"

"Annoying? I'm not annoying!" she replied, her grin now even wider.

He shook his head, and ran his hands through his hair before looking up at her, amused. "What do you say we order dinner?"

She smiled innocently. "Sure, Merlin knows I've been starving for the last half-hour."

He signalled the waiter and asked her, "Why didn't you just order?"

"My mother raised me right. She always said never to begin eating before everyone at the table had been served, or arrived."

He shook his head again. "You could have punished him for coming late, if he had shown up."

"I suppose, but it's no fun eating alone anyway."

He couldn't argue with that so he turned to the menu the waiter had placed in front of him. "What do you want?"

Her mouth pulled to one side and her nose wrinkled in thought. It was quite endearing. "I think I'll have…the salmon. I do like salmon."

"And what about dessert?"

"Umm…chocolate mousse."

He nodded and handed their menus to the waiter. "I'll have the same."

"Copy cat," she said and her thoughts returned to her earlier musings. "Tell me, have you always been so graceful?"

He pulled back sharply. "What do you mean?"

"Before, I was thinking that you're like a large cat; silent and graceful. I just wondered if you'd always been that way or if you'd trained yourself."

"Oh, well, I guess I've always been that way, what with having to sneak around my house as a child to avoid my father. Before that though, I must have taught myself. My father didn't like excessive noise. Of course, he didn't like much of anything, children included."

His eyes glazed over, as he mentally returned to his painful childhood. Seeing the pain in his eyes, she laid her hand gently over his. Her touch brought him back to the present and he looked her deep in the eyes.

He raised his other hand and traced her jaw slowly with one finger. Her skin was soft and creamy, just as he'd always thought it would be. Her eyes widened slightly but remained focused on his. He cupped her face in one hand and stroked her cheek with his thumb, noting the freckles that dusted her nose and cheekbones.

Her tongue poked out and licked her lower lip nervously. "What are you doing?" she asked quietly.

He smiled gently. "Appreciating a masterpiece."

She blushed furiously and ducked her head away from him. Enjoying her embarrassment, he laughed quietly and pushed her head back up.

"I must remember to thank Harry."

She started. She'd never heard him say _that_ before. What had he done, that Harry needed to be thanked by the man sitting opposite her? "What do you mean?"

"He helped me tonight. In fact, I wouldn't be hear if not or him."

She frowned in confusion. "I'm not quite sure I follow."

"That's alright. I don't really want you to hate me, not when we're doing so well."

_Now_ she was worried. "What did you do?"

"_I_ didn't do anything. Harry just told a little white lie for me, is all."

She sighed. "You two have something to do with my date not showing up don't you?"

"Well," he said, drawing out the word slowly, "Yes and no."

"And you didn't really have a date tonight did you?"

"Again, yes and no."

"Yes and no? What in Merlin's name does _that_ mean?"

"Okay, well, I _did_ have a date tonight, and your date _did_ show up."

She said nothing, instead, she continued staring at him, waiting for the punch line.

"See, the thing is, Harry got in touch with your original date and told him that you wouldn't be able to show up. Then the both of set up a new date for you, we just forgot to tell him who he was going to be."

"Forgot huh?"

"Okay, so we refrained from mentioning."

"Why?"

"Well, the thing is, this guy has had his eye on you for months. The problem is, that you don't seem to have your eye on _him._"

"I see, and who, pray tell, is this mystery man?"

He was silent for a moment, watching her. "Can't you guess?"

She began to shake her head, but stopped abruptly as her mind ran her through the last few months. All the time he'd been around for no apparent reason, all the times he'd offered to help when she didn't need it, the disappointment and silence she would get from him as she told of her latest date, the way he watched her when he thought no one was looking. Suddenly it was all so obvious.

"_You_?"

He smiled sadly. "I'm afraid so. Are you angry?"

She was silent, thinking about her answer. "Truthfully? No. How could I be?"

"Really?"

"Really."

"So, you have no qualms about, you know, you and me?"

She smiled gently and brushed the hair out of his eyes. "Nope, none at all."

He breathed out in relief. "Thank Merlin for that."

She laughed. Maybe this time things would be different. He wasn't just an ordinary guy, after all. This was Draco Malfoy and he _always_ got what he wanted.

As their dinner arrived, Ginny Weasley couldn't help but stare at the man before her. Yes, this time things would be different, she would make it so.

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**A/N: In retrospect, I think this is good. I'm quite pleased with it. Now, what do you guys think? Leave a review at the tone!**

**BEEP!**


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